


Body Paint Between Friends

by XxmerthurcatxX



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Blow Jobs, Body Shots, Coming on Face, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hand Jobs, M/M, Nurse Steve, Pining, Roommates, art student billy, body painting, but for some reason that term just doesn't do it for me, i know that's called a facial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 03:52:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,553
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19455790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XxmerthurcatxX/pseuds/XxmerthurcatxX
Summary: Steve was content to pine for his roommate from afar, but with the help of a topless model, body shots, and an art project, he might end up with more than he bargained for.





	Body Paint Between Friends

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr @callmelilyshameless

There was a topless girl sitting in the middle of the living room. 

Steve blinked a couple of times, pushing his glasses up his nose and trying to focus. He was sleep deprived coming off a long ass shift at the hospital. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d walked into his neighbor’s apartment instead of his own. Mrs. Bleaker was nice about it though. She always sent him home with cookies and he always reminded her that she should really keep the door to her apartment locked. 

But the girl sitting perched on the coffee table certainly wasn’t Mrs. Bleaker. This girl was about his age, with bright green hair that she had up in two buns on top of her head. She was rocking some bold eye makeup, pink and yellow swirling together, and she’d given herself cat eyes with sleek black liner. 

It took Steve a second to shake himself from his stupor and realize he was staring which was probably creepy because, as previously stated, she was topless. 

“You must be the roommate,” the girl said, not looking particularly bothered by the whole situation. 

“Uh, yeah. And...you are?”

The girl opened her mouth to respond, but before she could say anything Steve’s roommate, Billy, was walking into the room. His eyes landed on Steve, a frown on his face. 

“You’re back early,” he said, taking a seat on the couch and flipping open his sketch pad, untucking his pencil from behind his ear. “This is Kim,” Billy said, not going any further in his introduction as he began sketching the girl in front of him. 

It clicked in Steve’s brain then, through the sleepy fog he was in, that she must be modeling for Billy and yeah, that made sense. Billy was an art major. It wasn’t unusual for him to have models over. It was however, unusual for them to be posing topless. 

“We just started anatomy in our class,” Kim explained, since it appeared Billy was too focused on his sketch to give Steve the details. “So, I’m posing for him and then he’s gonna pose for me.”

Steve nodded, rubbing the back of his neck, shifting a little uncomfortably. 

“Oh. Well, uh, I’ll leave you to it then,” he said awkwardly, quickly excusing himself to the kitchen. He heard a smacking sound, followed by a yelp that was definitely Billy. Steve tucked himself behind the kitchen doorway so that he was still within earshot. 

“Next time, you might wanna give your roommate a heads up,” Kim hissed. “Poor guy looked like he was gonna have an aneurysm.”

Billy snorted. 

“Please, he’s fine. It’s not the worst thing he’s walked in on, trust me.”

And yeah, that was true. Kind of a hazard when Billy Hargrove was your roommate. Steve sighed, making himself a mug of tea and heading to his room to change out of his scrubs and crash. 

If he fell asleep thinking about the way Billy chewed his thumb when he was analyzing his work, then that was his business. 

XXXX

After the first few times Steve had walked in on Kim posing for Billy in the living room it got less awkward. They had a rhythm, exchanged pleasantries, agreed that Billy was an impossible human being, which was usually met with a disgruntled “hey!” from Billy before he went back to what he was sketching. It was nice. She was cool. 

Except Steve hated the way that she made Billy laugh. And the way the two of them talked like they’d known each other for years even though they’d only been in classes together for a semester. He hated the way she touched Billy’s shoulder when she sat next to him to critique his work. 

Okay, so maybe Steve had a little crush on his roommate, and maybe it killed him a little that Billy wasn’t exactly available. 

“What are you thinkin about over there, pretty boy?” Billy asked over dinner that night. 

They were sitting at the table, eating cold pizza and drinking lukewarm beer. Billy’s foot was touching Steve’s under the table. He tried not to focus on it. 

Steve shrugged. 

“Just thinking it must be nice to have a girlfriend who’s willing to model for you. I bet tons of people in your class wish they had reliable models like that and--why are you looking at me like that?” Steve asked. 

Billy was staring at him in confusion. He cocked his head to the side, setting his pizza down and licking the grease from his fingers. Steve tracked the motion, watching Billy’s tongue curl around his thumb. 

“Kim’s not my girlfriend,” Billy told him, giving Steve a look like he was missing something totally obvious. 

It was Steve’s turn to be the confused one, because what did he mean Kim wasn’t his girlfriend? With the way they acted around each other and how willing she was to sit around their living room with her shirt off. There was such a sense of familiarity, it’s not like anyone would blame him for assuming. 

“Really? I just kind of figured since you guys spend so much time together,” Steve said, trying to sound casual. 

Billy laughed. A full on belly laugh, head thrown back and hand gripping the table for support.    
  


“Oh, man, Harrington,” he said, reaching forward and plucking Steve’s glasses off his face and pretending to examine them. “You sure these things work? Think you might need a new prescription.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve asked, reaching for his glasses

Billy sighed, shaking his head and sliding Steve’s glasses back over to him as he got to his feet. 

“Forget about it, man. It’s not important,” Billy said, walking around the table and giving Steve’s shoulder a squeeze before he padded down the hall to his bedroom. 

Steve ate two more pieces of pizza and drank three more beers, feeling like he was missing something ridiculously obvious. 

XXXX

Body shots. 

There were body shots happening in the living room. 

Steve had stumbled his way home from work, still in his scrubs, exhausted and covered in who knows what, to find that his roommate was throwing a party and had conveniently forgotten to mention it. Which was why Kim was laying on the coffee table with his shirt yanked up while a girl Steve didn’t recognize licked salt off of Kims wrist and took the shot from her stomach.

“I told you I was having people over!” Billy yelled over the music, standing so close Steve could smell his cologne. Aramis. Because what the fuck else would it be. 

“I thought you meant like, a couple of friends! Not the entire art department!” Steve shouted back. He was pissed. Hell, he had a right to be. Something Billy seemed to forget that it was a shared space. That it was Steve’s apartment too and that when he got out of work he just wanted to chill on the couch and watch shitty tv. “You know what, fuck it, I’ll be in my room.”

Steve shoved past Billy, weaving his way through the rowdy party guests to get to the safety of his bedroom. He sighed, taking a minute to calm himself down because god, Billy had a knack for riling him up without even trying. A knock at the door made him jump. He almost ignored it since he assumed it was Billy, but his parents had spent years making sure he had impeccable manners ingrained all the way to his core, so with their voices ringing in his head he opened the door. 

Kim was grinning brightly at him from the other side. 

“Hey man, how’s it goin?” she asked, looking a little rosy around the cheeks. 

“Uh, fine I guess. Tired. Long day at work. Wasn’t expecting a party,” Steve said, trying not to sound like he was being whiny. 

Kim laughed, shaking her head. 

“Classic Billy, right? But listen, you should come hang out. It’s more fun than it looks, I swear,” she said, and something about the way she was looking at Steve, the same way Billy always looked at him, made him feel like he was missing something. 

Steve thought about politely declining, until he realized exactly how long it had been since he’d partied. Not since he started working at the hospital, that’s for sure. Nursing and partying didn’t go together. By the time he got out of work he was exhausted, plus he had to be ready to do it all over again in the morning. But tomorrow he had a rare day off, so if there was ever a time to fight through the exhaustion and blow off a little steam partying, it was now. 

“Okay, let me just change out of my scrubs,” Steve said, giving Kim a small smile and closing his door. 

He changed quickly, throwing on a pair of jeans, the ones that were a little shy of too tight but hugged his ass just right and a green sweater with the sleeves rolled up. He checked his watch. Just before eleven. Jesus, it wasn’t even that late. When did he get so old? Ready for bed before eleven. High school Steve would be so disappointed. 

Determined to make his seventeen year old self proud, Steve slipped out of his room and allowed Kim to drag him into the living room. His jaw nearly dropped at the sight waiting for him. 

Apparently it was Billy’s turn in the body shot rotation. He’d unbuttoned his maroon shirt, the one that Steve had fantasized ripping off him a dozen and a half times, all the way and was laying with his arms stretched over his head while he waited for whoever was gonna do the shot. 

He lifted his head just slightly, grinning when he caught sight of Kim. 

“Hey, you disappeared right when we were getting to the good part,” he teased, waggling his eyebrows at her with his tongue between his teeth. 

But Kim had a glint in her eyes. One Steve recognized all too well. She was up to something. Something a little naughty. With a hand pressed to Steve’s back, Kim gave him a little shove forward, toward Billy. 

“I’m done drinking for the night,” Kim announced. “Guess Steve’s gonna have to take my turn,” she said innocently. 

Steve’s eyes widened. Was she seriously suggesting that he do a body shot off of Billy Hargrove, because fuck he wasn’t sure if he, or his dick, could handle that?

“Oh, I don’t-

“Come on! It’s fun, I’ll even poor the tequila for you,” she offered. 

Steve glanced down at Billy who was looking far too calm about this whole thing as he picked up the shaker of salt and shook some onto his neck. 

“I’m in if you are, pretty boy,” Billy said, arching one brow at Steve as he placed the lime wedge between his teeth. 

A challenge. 

No, even better. 

A dare. 

Billy was daring him. 

He didn’t think Steve would actually do it. 

Oh, how wrong he was. 

Taking the tequila bottle from Kim’s hand, Steve moved to stand at the side of the table, resisting the urge to grin when he saw the way Billy’s eyes widened in surprise. It made for a funny picture, what with the lime in his mouth. 

Steve summoned up his old “King of Hawkins High” courage, tipping the bottle and splashing the liquid over Billy’s stomach, taking care that most of it ended up in the dip of his navel. With a hand on either side of Billy’s head, Steve leaned in, licking a long stripe up Billy’s neck to catch the salt on his tongue. His heart skipped a beat when Billy let out a soft whine, right next to his ear. 

He slid down the other boy’s body, aware that people were watching them now. How could they not when Billy was staring at Steve with heavy lidded eyes, chest heaving as Steve dipped his head to drink the tequila straight out of Billy’s belly button. Steve didn’t miss the way Billy’s muscles twitched under him. The way his abs quivered and his breath hitched, hips twitching almost imperceptibly but oh, Steve noticed. 

The tequila burned. Much more than Steve remembered, considering he hadn’t touched the stuff since he and his buddy Tommy snuck a bottle from his dad’s liquor cabinet. Needless to say they regretted it immensely the next morning. 

Steve swallowed, stealing his resolve and trying to ignore the fact that he was half hard in his jeans as he crawled back up Billy’s body, hovering over him, their noses nearly brushing they were so close. He jumped when he felt Billy’s hand at the back of his neck. 

Billy blinked up at Steve. The challenge was still there, a twinkle, bright in his eyes, but there was something else to. Something Steve couldn’t quite name as he closed the rest of the distance between them, plucking the lime from Billy’s mouth was his own. He bit into the lime, a few drops of juice dripping from his own lips and landing onto Billy’s. 

Steve watched Billy’s tongue slide across his bottom lip, catching the juice that had landed there, and yeah, Steve’s jeans were officially too tight for him to be around company anymore. Unceremoniously spitting the lime onto the table, Steve took a few steps backwards, nearly tripping over himself in the process. Billy was frowning, concern on his face. 

“Steve, I--

“I’m gonna, um, I’m gonna get ready for bed. I’m not in a partying mood after all. Uh...sorry,” he finished lamely, practically bolting down the hall to his room. 

As soon as his door was shut he was fumbling with his jeans, shoving his hand down the front of them as he popped the button open.

“Shit,” he cursed quietly, stroking himself fast, not caring that it was too dry because he was so fucking hard and he needed to come like, yesterday. He thought about the way Billy’s muscles had worked under his tongue. The subtle twitch of his hips. The look Billy had given him when he’d been about to take the lime. 

“B-Billy,” he choked, coming hard over his fist after barely a dozen strokes. 

He cleaned up quickly and got ready for bed before the shame of it all could set in, unaware that someone had been listening right outside the door. 

XXXX

Billy was wearing a crop top. 

He knocked on Steve’s door, looking completely frantic and Steve was pretty sure he had been asked a question, but he was too busy staring at Billy’s exposed stomach to hear what it was. The crop top was grey with long sleeves, the Everlast logo written in big black letters across it. It stopped just below Billy nipple line and god, Steve wanted to slip his hands underneath it and— Billy snapped his fingers in Steve’s face, bringing him out of his crop top fantasy. 

“What?” Steve asked, eyes snapping up to Billy’s face. They hadn’t really talked much since the whole body shot thing happened last week. Things were...awkward. 

“I said, I need you to be my canvas. Right now,” Billy said, not waiting for Steve to respond before he was grabbing his hand and dragging him into the living room. 

It wasn’t the first time Billy had used him as a model. On more than one occasion Steve had woken up to Billy sitting at his desk, sketching him as he slept. 

_ “It’s creepy to watch people when they sleep,” Steve said, sitting up slowly and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. _

_ “It’s rude to move when an artist is trying to draw you,” Billy countered, glaring at Steve as the other boy got out of bed.  _

_ “You could just ask, ya know. If you could draw me. Instead of sneaking in here like a total weirdo.” _

_ Billy rolled his eyes, flipping his sketchbook shut and shaking his head, leaving Steve to get ready for the day.  _

Steve’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted when he realized that Billy had said “I need you to be my canvas” and not “I need you to be my model.”

“Canvas? What do you--

“Body painting. We’re doing a unit on body painting and I have to do a piece and it’s a huge part of my grade,” Billy said, readying his paint supplies. “Kim was supposed to do it, but she’s got the flu and none of my other models are free,” he explained, staring at Steve expectantly. “Well...take your shirt off, would ya?”

Steve fiddled with the hem of his shirt nervously. He wanted to help Billy, really, he did. But just the idea of the other boy using him as his canvas was threatening to make Steve hard in his sweats. There was no way he would make it through this without popping a boner. 

“Please, Steve,” Billy said, and he looked so desperate and terrified that Steve was gonna say no and let him fail his project. As if Steve was even capable of leaving him in the lurch like that. 

“You’re so lucky I have the day off,” Steve grumbled, yanking his t-shirt off before he could change his mind. 

Billy grinned at him, adjusting his ever present beanie before snagging his pallet. He walked around Steve to stand behind him, humming as he ran a gentle hand down Steve’s back, examining his “canvas.”

“Gonna paint your back. Broader surface area because of your shoulders. But I may bring it around the front just a little, around your rib cage. That alright?” Billy asked. 

Steve nodded, not trusting his voice. 

“Let me know if you get tired and need to sit,” Billy said.

Steve readied himself for the press of a paintbrush, flinching when he felt Billy’s fingers instead, slick with paint as he traced a long line down his spine. The paint was cold, a stark contrast to the warmth of Billy’s fingers as he slowly dragged them across Steve’s skin. He wondered what the other boy was painting, hoping he wouldn’t end up with something ridiculous like a flaming skull with a cigarette hanging out of its mouth. Billy had talent, to be sure. But he was also a little shit. 

They were both silent while Billy worked. Steve wasn’t sure he could speak even if he wanted to. There was something intimate about Billy putting his art on Steve’s body. Using him as his muse and his medium in one. Steve could feel himself getting hard, something he knew would be difficult to conceal since he was wearing a pair of sweatpants. Jesus, he should have changed. Worn his baggiest jeans or something. 

He couldn’t suppress a gasp when Billy’s thumb brushed over his ribcage, painting a series of wavy lines, before he traced a circle above Steve’s hipbone. 

“You good?” Billy asked, moving to paint the same pattern across Steve’s other side. 

“Y-yeah, I’m--

Steve cut himself off with an honest to god moan when Billy’s thumb accidentally drifted too low, dipping just under the hem of his sweatpants. His face went beet red. There was no way he could write that sound off as anything other than it was. He was about to apologize when Billy spoke. 

“I heard you, you know.”

Steve frowned. 

“What are you talking about?” he asked. 

“That night. After the party,” Billy said, crowding in close behind Steve, careful not to touch his back and smudge his artwork. 

Steve froze. After the party. He’d gone to his room to jerk off, and really who could blame him, he’d had his tongue in Billy’s belly button for fuck’s sake. 

“Went to check on you,” Billy continued, sliding an arm around Steve, his hand pressed against his chest. “Make sure you were okay, and I  _ heard _ you. You said my name,” Billy said, his fingers slipping down Steve’s abdomen, tracing the hemline of his sweatpants. 

“Billy,” Steve whined, nervous and excited and terrified all at once.

“Tell me to stop,” Billy murmured, lips pressed right up against Steve’s ear. “Tell me to stop and I promise I will.” 

Steve knew he was telling the truth. Knew Billy would never do anything that Steve didn’t want him to. And god, he wanted what Billy was offering. 

“Don’t stop,” he whispered. 

That was all the incentive Billy needed, pressing a kiss just below Steve’s ear, his fingers sliding down the front of Steve’s sweats and-

“Wait!” Steve cried suddenly. 

Billy pulled his hand away like he’d been burnt. 

“Sorry. Fuck, I’m sorry. Too soon? Do you not want me to?” he asked. 

Steve shook his head quickly, catching Billy’s wrist, his thumb rubbing soothing circles across his skin. 

“It’s not that. Sorry, I didn’t mean to freak out. It’s just, uh, you were about to touch my dick and you’ve got paint all over your hands,” he said sheepishly. 

Billy stared at him in shock before he was laughing, shaking his head and pressing a soft kiss to Steve’s cheek. 

“It’s non toxic, dummy. Think I’d paint on you with something that wasn’t body safe?” he asked. 

“Oh...then by all means, keep going,” Steve said, guiding Billy’s hand down the front of his sweats and groaning when the other boy curled his fingers around him. 

Billy nipped and licked at Steve’s neck, jerking him with slow, easy strokes. He paused for a moment to yank his top off before he pressed himself along the length of Steve’s back, his free hand gripping Steve’s hip. 

“Y-you’re gonna ruin the paint,” Steve warned, his brain trying to be rational even as he rocked forward into Billy’s grip. 

“Mmm, just means I get to paint you again later, pretty boy,” he teased, breath hot on Steve’s neck as he rocked his hips against Steve’s ass, eager for a little friction.

Steve groaned, head lolling back against Billy’s shoulder. He reached a hand back to tug Billy’s beanie off his head, tangling his fingers in Billy’s curls as they fell down around his face. Billy moaned, tucking his face into the curve of Steve’s neck as he stroked him faster, tightening his grip and yeah, Steve knew this was going to be over embarrassingly fast. 

“Billy--ah--I’m gonna come,” he warned, not wanting this to be over too quickly, but unable to control himself because it was  _ Billy’s _ hand on him.  _ Billy’s _ mouth at his neck. 

“S’okay. It’s okay, sweetheart,” Billy crooned, catching his earlobe between his teeth. “Wanna see you come. Bet you look real pretty. Always so fucking pretty.”

Steve’s fingers tightened in Billy’s hair, his hips stuttering in the other boy’s grip as he spilled over Billy’s fist, a long moan sliding past his lips. 

Billy stroked him through it until Steve got to sensitive and had to bat his hand away as he tried to get his breath back. He was dizzy and loose limbed and fuck, if it wasn’t for Billy holding him up he’d probably fall over. Through the haze of his orgasm he realized that Billy was still hard. 

Steve turned in Billy’s arms, sinking to his knees and fumbling with the button of Billy’s jeans. 

“You don’t have to--

“Shut up,” Steve said, dragging Billy’s jeans down to his ankles and sucking the head of his cock into his mouth in one go. 

“Oh, fuck,” Billy cursed, gripping Steve’s hair hard, head thrown back when Steve leaned back to swirl his tongue around the head before sliding back down. He took as much of Billy’s dick into his mouth as he could, using his hand on the rest. Billy was close. Probably had been for a while and the thought that Steve was the reason had him doubling his efforts, bobbing his head and reaching behind Billy to give his ass a squeeze. 

“Steve. Gonna come,” Billy whimpered and Steve was more than willing to finish Billy off like this, but then he was being yanked off of Billy’s cock, the other boy coming in hot spurts across his face. 

He blinked up at Billy, watching the way his pretty pink lips were parted as he dragged in big gulps of air, his hand still tangled in Steve’s hair. 

“You know, when you said you wanted to paint me, this wasn’t what I thought you meant,” Steve said, grimacing as he reached up to wipe the come out of his eyelashes. 

Billy looked down at him, managing to look sheepish and completely satisfied at the same time as he pulled Steve up to his feet. 

“Sorry. Should have asked if that was okay. Got caught up in the heat of the moment,” Billy said. 

Steve shook his head. 

“Don’t be sorry. I...I liked it,” he admitted. “I was just surprised.”

Billy brushed his thumb across Steve’s cheek, catching a few drops of come and holding his thumb up to Steve’s lips. 

“Yeah?” he asked. 

Steve nodded, taking Billy’s thumb into his mouth and licking it clean. 

“Yeah,” he echoed when he pulled back. 

Billy glanced down at his torso, sighing when he saw he was covered in paint. 

“I need a shower.”

Steve snorted, gesturing to himself. 

“If anyone needs a shower, it’s me,” he said. 

Billy chuckled, shaking his head and dragging Steve forward, pressing a lingering kiss to his lips. Their first kiss, Steve realized. And yeah, maybe they’d sort of done this whole thing backwards, but he didn’t care. 

“I was thinking we could shower  _ together _ . Ya know, conserve water and all that,” Billy offered, looking at Steve from under those stupidly dark eyelashes and really, how could Steve refuse. 

“Works for me,” Steve said, grinning with Billy laced their fingers together, pulling Steve down the hall. 

Yeah. Steve was willing to let Billy paint him whenever he wanted if this was how it turned out. 

XXXX

“I can’t believe you thought I was dating Kim,” Billy said, later that evening, curled up naked with his head resting on Steve’s chest. 

“Dude, the first time I met her she was topless in our living room,” Steve reminded him, sliding his glasses off his face and setting them on his bedside table. Billy had requested he leave them on while he “rode him into oblivion” (Billy’s words, not Steve’s.) It was great in theory, but by the end of it they were so fogged up he couldn’t see a damn thing. 

“Don’t know how you didn’t know I liked you,” Billy grumbled, tracing patterns across Steve’s chest. 

“You never told me,” Steve said, running his fingers through Billy’s curls.

“Neither did you,” Billy countered. 

Steve sighed, tipping Billy’s chin up and leaning down to press a kiss to his pouty lips. 

“We ended up here in the end. Isn’t that what matters?” he asked. 

Billy pretended to think about it for a second before he put his head back on Steve’s chest, snuggling closer. 

“Yeah, I guess that’s what matters.”

Steve kissed Billy’s forehead before reaching over to turn off the light. 

“Don’t forget, I have to paint you tomorrow. Since I kind of ruined what I did today,” Billy reminded him, yawning and smacking his lips sleepily. 

Steve smiled. 

“Looking forward to it.”


End file.
